1. Field of the Invention
Disclosed herein are fuel additive compositions and methods for making and using such compositions.
2. Relevant Technology
Fuel additives are commonly added to hydrocarbon fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, to provide a wide variety of known benefits, such to boost octane and reduce engine knock, reduce formation and buildup of deposits, clean fuel injectors, improve fuel combustion efficiency, maintain flow of diesel during cold weather, and disperse water.
Fuel additives typically include a fuel compatible solvent, such as petroleum distillates, alcohol, toluene, xylene, or trimethyl benzene, and may include one or more other active agents in relatively small quantities, such as antioxidants.
Recently, fuel additives have been proposed which contain nanoparticles made from boron (B), boron/rare earth oxides, boron/iron composites (B/Fe), cerium oxide (CeO2), doped cerium oxide, aluminum (Al), magnesium-aluminum, cobalt oxide (Co3O4), or iron oxides. A common feature of such nanoparticles is that they are made from relatively low cost metals that are easily oxidized into ionic form. Notwithstanding the foregoing, fuel additives containing nanoparticles have yet to attain market acceptance and have been viewed with suspicion by environmentalists and the EPA in view of the generally highly reactive nature of nanoparticles, particularly metal compounds containing metal ions or metals that can easily oxidize during combustion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,972 discloses gasoline additives for catalytic control of emissions from combustion engines. Such additives are in the form of a solid briquette deposited in a gas or a filter placed in a gas line and contain metal compounds, including noble metal compounds such as a combination of X2 PtCl6, RhCl3 and XReO4, where X═K, Rh or Cs, which are formulated to slowly dissolve into gasoline. Following combustion, such compounds are carried by exhaust gases through the exhaust system and deposited on exhaust system surfaces to provide catalyst sites for conversion of toxic emissions.
Noticeably absent in the art is any known or proposed way to manufacture fuel additives containing nanoparticles made from nonionic, ground state metals or metal mixtures or alloys, such as noble metals, transition metals, or rare earth metals.